-
1 week ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
I’m not sure how long I’ve gone without fishing over the past 15 years. I’m sure there were cold snaps, blizzards, or broken-down vehicles that kept me off the water for a week at a time, but never two weeks. I have an obsessive personality, and fly fishing is the sort of sport that caters to obsessive types, especially when you spend most of your life living 15 minutes from a decent trout stream.
-
2 weeks ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
Simms has announced the release of a brand-new wader to their lineup—the Flyweight Packable Wader. Simms is calling this the “lightest, most packable wader” the company has ever built. It’s designed to provide the same tough performance Simms is known for, while easily fitting inside a backpack. The entire wader packs into an integrated stuff sack located in the chest pocket. Clocking it at 2.45 pounds in a standard Medium, the Flyweight Packable certainly is light.
-
2 weeks ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
A provision in the GOP budget bill that would have authorized the sale of millions of acres of public land has been stripped from the legislation, according to news reports yesterday. Republican representatives Mark Amodei, of Nevada, and Celesta Maloy, of Utah, introduced a provision in the GOP budget bill in Congress that would have authorized the sale of over 1.5 million acres of federal land throughout their states.
-
2 weeks ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
Sixteen lawmakers in the House of Representatives have formed the Public Lands Caucus, which aims to “(conserve) America’s public lands and (expand) access for all Americans.” The caucus was formed as a direct response to members of the House who authorized the sale of public lands in the latest budget bill (which has yet to head to the House floor for a full vote).
-
3 weeks ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
I’m a hard sell when it comes to waders. I wore uncomfortable, cheap ones for years, to the point that I genuinely hated waders. I’d start wet-wading in May, and continue into November if the weather held. When I splurged on my first pair of good waders, it was a game-changer. I didn’t feel like I was wearing a space suit, I stayed warm and dry, and the extra pockets were a welcome addition to my kit.
-
3 weeks ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
Republican lawmakers in Congress have added a provision to their new tax legislation that authorizes the sale of public land in Utah and Nevada. According to the Associated Press, the provision was accepted early in the morning on May 7. Earlier drafts of this tax legislation hadn’t included public land sale authorization, because it’s largely opposed in Congress. Even Republican representatives from Montana and Colorado oppose the sale, as does Idaho congressman Mike Simpson.
-
3 weeks ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
On an old episode of The American Sportsman, Lee Wulff and Curt Gowdy flew up to Labrador and fished the Minipi River for giant brook trout. The whole episode is an absolute gem (and worth watching just to see Wulff tie a fly without a vise), but there’s one line that Gowdy says that’s stuck in my mind since I first watched this episode a few years ago. I can’t remember it word-for-word, but Gowdy says that all anglers go through an evolution of sorts.
-
1 month ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
A few weeks ago, I was out fishing with two friends when we got into a great blue-winged olive hatch. There were bugs everywhere, the fish were going nuts, and I remember thinking something to the effect of, this will be an easy day. Four hours later, I hadn’t caught a fish. No one else had, either, but I was having a hard time not taking it personally. I’d switched fly patterns out a half-dozen times, lengthened my leader, and tried every dry-emerger combination I could think of.
-
1 month ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
Filson is a name that hardly needs introducing in the outdoors gear space. They’ve consistently made fantastic apparel and outerwear for years, and their tin cloth hats have been worn by a few famous anglers. They recently partnered with Housefly Fishing, a shop based in Hawley, Pennsylvania, to produce a lineup of new gear tailored for fly anglers. This gear collaboration includes a hip pack, rain poncho, hat, and a few shirts.
-
1 month ago | 
flylordsmag.com | Spencer Durrant
The creek usually fishes well before runoff, but that window of time varies year to year. Last year I had two weeks of good fishing before snowmelt turned the creek into a raging torrent. I spent most of June on tailwaters, waiting for the freestones to come back into shape. This year, even with an average winter, the creek is in fantastic shape. The water is low and clear, the bugs are hatching, and the fish have moved from their winter runs into the riffles and pockets.
